Interesting article. Santa makes life better. I don't know that he necessarily prepares children for religion. Rather I see a logic in Santa being more of a catalyst for what most people with faith don't like about Christmas or what it has largely become, i.e. a consumer holiday, spend, buy, consume, practically for the sake of spending, buying and consuming. It's Christmas so you have to spend money, go to stores, buy stuff for people, that's the modern message and Santa does what? He brings you stuff. So when you learn the truth about Santa, Christmas goes from having a touch of fantasy to being cold hard consumerism. It's difficult, at least I think it is, to tie the notion of Santa to perhaps the most sacred religious holidays in Christianity.

Am I overthinking or way overthinking?

If you are a kid, Santa is cool. Believing in Santa is cool. I think it would diminish childhood to not include Santa in it.